Modeselektor Documentary to Chronicle a Duo Who Really Click [Trailer]

Electronic Beats, the editorial project sponsored by a certain major mobile carrier in Germany, has been doing extraordinary work profiling artists. (Their films are in English or have English subtitles.) The upcoming Modeselektor project, due out the 3rd of May, extends that to full-length documentary filmmaking. And the results look terrifically inspiring.

But what’s significant here may not be a popular, influential electronic duo getting their due. Just as importantly, as featured here in the trailer, the creative coupling of Gernot Bronsert and Sebastian Szary is all about the energy of two people who really work together. This thing might just be a perfect illustration of how a collaborative relationship can work. And you feel the results from these two, whether it’s hanging out offstage, in a private room venue, or a massive arena, that same dynamic comes across. It’s a reminder that any time two or more people are gathered to make music – or, indeed, any time just one person is in the audience – a social activity is at work.

The film also promises to talk about the role of Berlin and reunified Germany. But maybe that, too, is a common story. We all make music against backgrounds of place and history. I know almost no one making music where they grew up; those people matter, too, but so many of us are part of a community that has hit shuffle on locales and mixed together all manner of personality and background. And any creative collaborative can seem a cross-cultural exercise – perhaps siblings or significant others most of all.

I can’t wait. At some point, I’ll have to just compile some of the best Electronic Beats films from over the years; there are some real gems, across a range of genres.

Here’s what the creators have to say for themselves; you can preorder now:

Electronic Beats by Telekom presents
We Are Modeselektor
A film by Romi Agel & Holger Wick

What’s the “Seilscheibenpfeiler”?
What is the origin of the first Modeselektor tracks?
Where is Monkeytown?
Why is riding a coach more fun than flying?

These and many more questions will be answered with the documentary film We Are Modeselektor.

In 72 minutes, filmmakers Romi Agel and Holger Wick tell the story of Modeselektor as a post-German reunification movie, a travel report, and a portrait of the special friendship between Gernot Bronsert and Sebastian Szary all in one.

We Are Modeselektor is the story of two men, possessed by techno, who took their massive beats from their small hometown village to the world. And it’s a story that has only just begun